Asbestos found after it is already airborne
Identification or assumption is required before disturbance, not after. A pre-demolition survey or a documented assumption is the entry condition for this JSA, not an optional extra.
Demolition & Strip-out JSA (NZ)
The analysis that starts before the first wall comes out — because in New Zealand building stock the question that matters is what is in the material, and by the time you find out from the dust it is too late.
⚖️HSWA + Asbestos Regs 2016
👷Reviewed by OH Professionals
✏️Editable .docx
NZD 99
Instant DownloadInstant download · Editable .docx
Most demolition JSAs in circulation are structural documents — sequence, exclusion zones, plant. Those matter, but in New Zealand residential and light commercial work the dominant health risk is what the building is made of. Asbestos was used in New Zealand building products into the 1980s, lead paint well before that, and every tile bed and concrete slab is a silica source. This JSA puts identification before disturbance, which is the only sequence that works.
Bathroom and kitchen strip-outs treated as minor work
Small-scale residential strip-out is where uncontrolled asbestos and silica exposure most commonly happens, precisely because the job feels too small to warrant a process.
Services assumed dead
Live electrical, charged water, gas and fibre in a wall being removed. Disconnection has to be confirmed at source by the utility or a competent person, not inferred from the meter being off.
Who this is for
- Demolition and strip-out contractors
- Full and partial demolition, soft strip and fit-out removal.
- Builders and renovators
- Residential alterations, bathroom and kitchen strip-outs, re-lining.
- Main contractors
- Verify the subcontractor analysis before any disturbance work starts on site.
- Property owners managing refurbishment
- Understanding what must be established before a contractor is allowed to start.
Licensed asbestos removal is separate regulated work with its own control plan requirement. This JSA covers demolition where asbestos has been identified, assessed and either removed first or is not present.
What's inside the template
Word — 16 pages (pre-populated JSA + pre-demolition checks + forms) · Formats: DOCX
- Section 1 — Task and scopeStructure, age, construction type, extent of demolition, occupancy and adjacent property.
- Section 2 — Pre-demolition hazardous materials checkAsbestos survey or documented assumption, lead paint, PCBs, synthetic mineral fibre, contaminated ground. This section gates the rest.asb 10
- Section 3 — Services disconnectionElectrical, gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications — disconnection confirmed at source with the confirming party named.
- Section 4 — Structural assessmentLoad paths, what is holding what, temporary support, and the sequence that keeps the remaining structure stable.
- Section 5 — Pre-populated step analysisSet up, isolate, soft strip, fixtures, linings, services strip, structural, and load-out — each with hazards and controls drafted.grwm 5
- Section 6 — Respirable crystalline silicaCutting, breaking and grinding of concrete, masonry, tile beds and fibre cement — water suppression and on-tool extraction before RPE.grwm 6
- Section 7 — Lead paintWhere it is likely by building age, and why heat and abrasive methods are the ones that generate exposure.
- Section 8 — Dust control and containmentSuppression, extraction, sheeting and negative pressure where used, plus preventing spread to occupied areas.
- Section 9 — Plant and exclusion zonesMachine demolition, operator protection, spotter, drop zones and structural collapse envelope.
- Section 10 — Manual handling and sharpsLifting linings and fixtures, protruding fixings, glass and needle risk in vacated buildings.
- Section 11 — Waste segregationSeparating hazardous waste streams and preventing cross-contamination of clean fill.
- Section 12 — Others on site and publicNeighbours, occupants, hoardings and shared boundaries.hswa 34
- Section 13 — Pre-start and crew sign-onConfirming the hazardous materials position has not changed and no unexpected material has been found.
- Appendix A — Unexpected finds procedureStop-work, isolate, sample, and do not resume — the single most important page in the document.
- Appendix B — Services disconnection recordUtility, method, confirmed by, date.
Compliance checklist
HSWA 2015 ss.30, 34, 36 · GRWM Regulations 2016 regs 5–7
A Job Safety Analysis is not a named statutory document in New Zealand — unlike an Australian SWMS, no regulation requires one by that name. Its weight comes from the duties it discharges, and from the fact that main contractors and prequalification schemes treat it as the expected evidence that a high-risk task was thought through before it started.
- GRWM reg 5Identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks to health and safety→ Step-by-step breakdown — hazards identified against each step rather than for the task as a whole
- GRWM reg 6Eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable; otherwise minimise by substitution, isolation, engineering, then administrative controls, then PPE→ Control column — every control declares its hierarchy level
- GRWM reg 7Ensure control measures are effective and maintained so they remain effective→ Verification and pre-start review sections
- HSWA s36Primary duty of care — ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable→ Residual risk assessment and the sign-on record
- HSWA s34Consult, cooperate and coordinate with other PCBUs where duties overlap→ Interfacing trades section — who else is affected by this task and how it is coordinated
How this template compares
The most common alternative in New Zealand is an Australian SWMS with the branding changed. It is worth being precise about why that is a problem.
Reviewed by OH Professionals
Written and reviewed by the occupational health and safety team at OH Consultant. These are drafted as New Zealand Job Safety Analyses, not as Australian SWMS with the terminology swapped. That distinction is substantive: a SWMS is an instrument created by Australian WHS regulation for high-risk construction work, with prescribed content and a statutory trigger. New Zealand has no equivalent provision, so a document presented as a "NZ SWMS" is citing a requirement that does not exist here.
Legislation referenced
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 30 — Management of risks ↗
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 34 — Duty of PCBUs to consult, cooperate, and coordinate ↗
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 36 — Primary duty of care ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 5 — Duty to identify hazards ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 6 — Hierarchy of control measures ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 7 — Duty to maintain control measures ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 10 — Identification ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 12 — Asbestos register ↗
Frequently asked
Do I need an asbestos survey before demolition?+
You need asbestos to be identified or assumed before it is disturbed. Under the HSW (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 a PCBU with management or control of a workplace must ensure asbestos and ACM giving rise to a risk of exposure is identified, and Regulation 10(2) permits assumption where material cannot be identified but is reasonably believed to contain asbestos. A survey is the usual route; a documented assumption treating the material as asbestos is the alternative. What is not available is proceeding without either.
Does this cover a small bathroom strip-out?+
Yes, and that is deliberately one of the scenarios it is written around. Small residential strip-out is where uncontrolled exposure most often occurs — the job feels too minor to warrant a process, and the tile bed, the vinyl backing, the textured ceiling and the wall lining are all candidate materials in New Zealand housing stock.
Can I use this for licensed asbestos removal?+
No. Licensed asbestos removal work requires an asbestos removal control plan under the Asbestos Regulations and must be done by a licensed removalist. This JSA covers demolition where asbestos has been identified and removed first, or established as not present. The unexpected-finds procedure in Appendix A is what you use if you meet it mid-job.
What about silica?+
Section 6 covers it directly. Cutting, breaking and grinding concrete, masonry, tile beds and fibre cement all generate respirable crystalline silica, and the controls that work are water suppression and on-tool extraction — engineering controls — rather than respiratory protection alone, which sits at the bottom of Regulation 6.
Is a JSA the same as a SWMS?+
In substance they do the same job — break a task into steps and assign hazards and controls to each. In law they are not the same. A SWMS is an Australian instrument required by Australian WHS regulation for high-risk construction work, with prescribed content. New Zealand has no equivalent provision, which is why the NZ convention is Job Safety Analysis or Task Analysis. If a supplier is selling you a "New Zealand SWMS", they are selling you an Australian document.
Is a JSA legally required in New Zealand?+
Not by name. What is required is that you identify hazards under GRWM Regulation 5, apply controls in the hierarchy order under Regulation 6, and keep them effective under Regulation 7. A JSA is how those duties are discharged at task level, and main contractors and prequalification schemes ask for it as a matter of course.
How does this relate to my SSSP?+
The SSSP is the project-level plan covering how health and safety is managed across the whole site. Job Safety Analyses sit underneath it — one per higher-risk task. On a typical job you have one SSSP and several JSAs, and the SSSP indexes them.
Who should complete and sign it?+
Someone competent in the work, with the crew who will actually do the task involved in developing it rather than handed a finished document. The sign-on section records that involvement, which is the part that distinguishes a JSA that was used from one that was filed.
How often does it need reviewing?+
Before each use, at minimum as a pre-start check for anything that has changed — different site conditions, different plant, different crew, weather. The pre-start section exists for that. A full review is warranted after any incident involving the task, or when the method or equipment changes.
Can I edit it for my business?+
Yes — it ships as an editable .docx with a single-buyer licence covering use across your own business and its projects. It is a starting point that reflects standard practice for the task, not a substitute for assessing the specific job in front of you. It is not licensed for resale or redistribution as your own template product.